


The Music Plays Our Song

by moon_girl_loves



Series: Kyalin Week 2020 [6]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), F/F, Kyalin Week 2020, Piano, Piano Concerts, Stage Names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27573334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_girl_loves/pseuds/moon_girl_loves
Summary: Music has always been a part of Kya's life, so she isn't surprised to find herself at a piano concert.What does surprise her however, is the mysterious pianist, and how thoughts of a certain woman manage to sneak up on her so often.aka,Kya sees a concert, stage names are weird, the music is beautiful, and so is Lin from the bookshop.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Series: Kyalin Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007766
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47
Collections: KyaLin Week 2020





	The Music Plays Our Song

**Author's Note:**

> Kyalin Week Day 6! This is the shortest one yet, mainly because it's supposed to be something like a foreword for a longer fic. I'm not entirely happy with it so I might edit it when I actually post the fic, but I hope you like it and please give any constructive criticism you have! I spent a lot of time describing things and inner thoughts rather than actions which I usually focus on, so please let me know if you have any tips! 
> 
> (Also! I play piano, but I haven't been to a concert that wasn't a recital I was in, so the portrayal of this may be inaccurate. Please let me know if theres anything I should change!)
> 
> Prompt: Modern Au/Happiness
> 
> See the end notes for some warnings!

_The ceiling of the concert hall was absurdly tall._

It was probably necessary, for higher up boxes or something, but Kya had tickets on the second level(there were only 2) and the boxes did not seem to reach much higher. 

If they were, they wouldn’t be able to see the stage. Which, though it is a musical concert, so visuals aren’t _really_ necessary, would be unfortunate.

The grand piano was beautiful, and so was the stage, decorations transforming it to a magical fairyland. The stage was shrouded in a dense mist, ivy crawled up the sides of white pillars, and the piano sat in the center, on top of a carpet of bluish grass sprouting flowers. 

It was _beautiful_ , and Kya hadn’t expected to be here, but she was glad she had come.

Piano hadn’t been a big part of Kya’s life, her parents had played but not often, too busy with their life saving responsibilities. _(The same responsibilities that made them too busy for their marriage...and their children. They tried but....politicians and hospitals don't give much leeway, especially when you're a higher up in the field who actually cares about what they're doing.)_

Kya forced a smile on her face, banishing the descending train of thought. Today was supposed to be a fun day, and she would not ruin it by dwelling on old memories.

Very soon the smile started to feel real, as they pushed past the crowds to find their seats. Her other friends spotted them, already in their seats after declining to browse the concert halls store. 

Or they at least seemed to, based on the hand waving and mouth moving that looked suspiciously like her name. 

It was too loud to hear much of anything. 

You wouldn’t think it at a classical music show, but they were just as busy and loud as the rest on Broadway, well, for this performer at least. Kya grabbed a program and gracefully sat(plopped) onto her seat, friends chattering alongside her.

The pamphlet called to her, as good of a reason to pass the time as any. The performers name was suitably dramatic to match the set, _the Metal Player._

It was suitably mysterious, how could metal, cold and unyielding, be good for piano, where freedom and emotion were tenants? Kya wasn't a piano expert by any means, she played violin and watched ensembles and orchestras, not piano solos. She did know a lot about music though, and what went into it, regardless of the instrument you used to get it out, was emotion. 

The fact that they even had a stage name was mysterious as well, especially when they were recognized enough to get a whole concert essentially to themselves. 

Piano was not a field in which a secret identity was required, or often practiced, and masks would make it more difficult to play.

They could have a stage name without a mask(Kya knew from experience) but with this amount of popularity and a solo career there was no way their identity wouldn’t have been found out, and it would have been pointless to not include it in the playbook.

She checked, but the pamphlet had no other personal information, just detailing the players' very respectable experience, and the setlist for the show. It included many of the players own pieces, much more than Kya would have expected. Composing was a tricky business, and from what she saw, this pianist had only been in the field professionally for around 10 years. Usually, people like that would spend a bit more time on known favorites, especially in solo concerts.(Kya knew because she was in the same boat, though she had only had one or two solo concerts so far, and none nearly as big as this). 

*

Kya startled slightly as the stage curtains closed with a woosh, nearly falling onto her friends lap, who just laughed and helped her up. Kya getting distracted in her thoughts was not exactly a novel experience.

Mere minutes later, the curtains _opened._

The set was the same, with a few minor, though breathtaking, additions. 

_A swing shifting in the wind without sound, a cherry blossom tree in full bloom leaning over the piano, and a growing blanket of dark fog, encapsulating the stage as the lights darkened, making way for a single spotlight._

Tension grew as the spot remained empty. Soon, it shifted, rushing across the floor and illuminating...a _**beautiful**_ creature. 

Unlike the formal suit and tie or dress usually favored for concerts, the player donned a costume reminiscent of something Kya could picture a warrior wearing to battle in the heroic tales of centuries ago.

Their hair and clothes glinted in the light, like metal in the sunlight. 

As Kya looked closer, she noticed highlights of blue in their hair, giving an almost otherworldly sheen. 

_(Kya liked them already, blue hair was awesome. It had always struck her as a queer color, though she didn’t know how to exactly explain it.) ___

__Their face was hidden, with some sort of dark thin cloth, like the dark spider webs hanging off the back of Halloween witches hats._ _

__It was unlikely the player could see much with it on...would they take it off?_ _

___(When Kya had thought of a mask, she had assumed it would be something with unobstructed eyes like a theater mask, or if it was covered, some sort of clear one way window glass, so they could see out, but no one could see in)._ _ _

__Kya knew they could play without sight, any musician could if they'd practiced long enough and a recent _(well, recent enough in regards to classical music, so within the last 35 years or so)_ world renowned blind pianist had shown it was entirely possible to excel. _ _

__If they really were playing blind, they would need immense skill for the pieces they were attempting, based on the violin equivalents anyways. The jumps were numerous, and in that case that was always the hardest part._ _

___(They obviously had immense skill anyway, with the audience they had, but it was one thing to look at others, and another to come to the conclusion yourself.)_ _ _

__The music was _beautiful_ and oozed emotion, quickly immersing Kya as the melody pervaded her senses._ _

__She slipped into a relaxing trance, floating along on the sound as it dragged her through its stories, trance only broken when the sound stopped and she felt her friends stand up beside her. They asked to go get food, and she waved them along, not waiting to leave the atmosphere, and feeling, just yet._ _

__*_ _

__Kya let her thoughts wander through the intermission, and unsurprisingly these days, they soon turned to Lin._ _

__She would love this, classical music was something she took an interest in, even if she said she had no time to play professionally herself._ _

___(Kya thought that was bullcrap, Lin was a statistics analyst, and 9-5 was brutal sure, but Lin usually got off early, and that was plenty of time to practice a daily 2-3 hours at least.)_ _ _

__They listened to music together sometimes, whenever Lin came in with nothing else to do on an empty day or one with just regulars. Kya had a phonograph that they had used at first, but Kira, Kya’s friend and technically boss, yelled at them for bothering the other customers. So, Kya had invested in headphones with a long cord(though not _ **too**_ long) instead. _ _

__They would sit next to each other on one of the fluffy couches or the beanbag chairs and read while the music played through their headphones._ _

___Lin was beautiful when she was relaxed_...not that Kya was staring! She just glanced over sometimes, they were sitting next to each other it was impossible not to, and caught glimpses. _ _

__Lin was beautiful normally too of course, Kya could appreciate a pretty woman, but being relaxed just made her seem... _softer.__ _

__On a whim, she wished Lin were here...but Lin was awkward with strangers, so it probably wouldn’t have been great for Lin if she did._ _

__Kya doubted she would want to spend the ticket money anyway, shows like this were not cheap, and she wasn’t sure if Lin was serious enough about music to commit._ _

__Kya could pay of course but...Lin might take it weird, so that was a lost cause for now...not that she could bring Lin now anyway. Maybe next time._ _

__Her friend caught Kya’s sigh, back from the refreshments, and laughed, “daydreaming about Lin again?”_ _

__“Shut up” Kya grumbled, blush staining her cheeks as she lightly punched her friend's shoulder, who just laughed in return._ _

__Kya looked back at the show, and smiled. Letting the music wash over her and soothe her mind, interspersing with thoughts of Lin._ _

__As the smoke filled the stage once again, and the Metal Player slipped out, Kya grinned._ _

__The Metal Player was an intriguing mystery, beautiful and emotional, despite what their stage name suggests._ _

___Kya would quite like to see one of their shows again...and maybe next time, she could bring Lin._ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Some warnings: 
> 
> Mention of complicated family dynamics(parents not having enough time for their kids): (Piano hadn't been...Kya forced a smile).  
> I don't think any other warnings are applicable? But tell me if I missed anything!
> 
> Some notes:
> 
> This is supposed to be the kind of introduction chapter for a longer fic I'm planning on! It's going to be about Kya and Lin and their journey in classical music together. I don't want to say anything else because spoilers but I hope I can start working on it soon!!! Let me know if anyone would like to see more!


End file.
